trekking in december?

Wondering about the possibility of a short (say a week) trek but it would have to be in December. Any possibilities in Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal or Sikkim – or will it be just too cold? Being intrinsically lazy, I don’t want to have to carry food or a tent so would prefer one with accommodation and food along the route (like Nepal). Alternatively, I could just go to Nepal for a while first I suppose. I imagine it would be too late to do the Annapurna Circuit…but what about the Sanctuary or Langtang? Once did a short trek around Ghandruk/Ghorepani in January and that wasn’t too bad weather wise but I think the Sanctuary route was closed by then. Anyway…all advice gratefully accepted.

Why not try Kerala. Here is a site www.triotoursindia.com

I think I want to be in the snowy mountains. Worth considering though...thanks.

Check out snow & temperature maps of the Himalayas online.

There is a firm called Himalayan Kingdoms that organises (horribly expensive) christmas treks in the Annapurna foothills & darjeeling ; you can check out their site to get a clearer idea of doable treks.

Sticking "+Himalayan+Kingdom+Nepal" into Yahoo brought up 12500 results!! Do you know the web address, Vistet? It's a good idea to check it out that way (I did look at a couple of the results but the ones I looked at didn't say the time of year). Thanks.

4753 clicks later :

www.himalayankingdoms.com

I have some stuff from when I planned my winter trip to Ladakh , post more after sleeping
(just made a night shift)

(speaking of winter trips made it just start snowing again...)

i think a short trek would be fine in early december out of Pokhara -- like up to Ghorepani and surrroundings -- its a nice hike even if you've done it before and the tea houses well stocked and convenient. I went up to the Annapurna Sanctuary mid-Nov one time and a blizzard hit the night I spent there (in a summer weight sleeping bag brrr). Also trekked in Helambu/Langtang area in Nov and found the higher elevations also pretty cold but no snow or ice. December might be pushing it a bit over 3500mt -- but then, you can prepare for it if you really want. No experience with northern india treks in winter.

I went back to Ladakh in the winter , partly because I was deeply disturbed by the way tourism interacted (or failed to interact ) with the people living there. Coming in the winter means that people look out for you and invite you for endless cups of hot buttered tea and generally show up their warmest side.
You also stand a lot higher chance of getting invited to services in the monasteries that have started to draw a line in the summer "welcome - please don`t disturb during prayers"
(remember that some monasteries actually close down and move south during winter , leaving only a caretaker)

You do need to prepare for the weather though or else you can land yourself in a big pile of yak dung.

Temperatures : there are a lot of exaggerations flying about concerning Himalayan winters. The temperatures actually seldom drop below - 25 at night and during the day it`s even milder. This still means you need a good winter sleeping bag, (boost it with down socks and a balaclava) and a good ground cover even when sleeping in houses.
Snow : the passes in will start to close during the fall. Most of the snow will fall in the lower mountains (Zanskar for example) , I saw very little snow in the Indus Valley around leh etc. Snow wont last long in valleys running west-east directions while north -south, more shaded valleys will keep their snow. This means that it could be worth checking out if there are any flights to the airfield west of Pisang in Manang Area.
There is also more snow to the east, this could be the reason why so many Tibetan refugees go as far west as Shar Kumbu (Everest region) before crossing the Himalayas.
Heavy snow covers also means avalanches : you dont want to place yourself (with or without experience of determining avalanche risks) at the bottom of the worlds deepest river gorge at Jomosom when the snow starts to settle. (recently you could read of a herder being killed with 80 yaks here and numerous locals being stranded & snowblinded en route from Lo Mantang).

Hugh Swift ( in "Trekking in Nepal, West Tibet & Bhutan") says re Annapurna sanctuary :
" be sure to ask locals and other trekkers about conditions on the trail .. Avalanches regularly sweep the narrow path ... early snows in the fall can close the trail, and people have often been trapped for days because of trails made impassable by snowfall or avalanches"

You need to bring really powerful sunglasses and sunblock : I did but still had painful burns on the INSIDE of my nostrils ( should have brought cocktail umbrellas as well .. )
Get the warmest boots you can find , learn to love buttered tea and you will have a good time.

If anyone has seen a good Himalayan snow depth map - please let me know.

Great info, Vistet..... -25 degrees though. I live in a city where a really cold winter's day is still above 10 degrees!! I was supposed to go to Ladakh in 2001 but my travel companion's 'psychic advisor' told her it was bad for her so we didn't go - still bummed about that.

And as for that website....duh!! I should have tried that before even looking on Yahoo, I guess. Thanks.

Anyway, went to the library today and checked out 2 Lonely Planets - Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya and Trekking in the Indian Himalaya. A quick look at both books indicates a lot of possibilities in Nepal at that time of the year and none in India, where the trekking season generally runs from May-October. I guess I could stay true to my lazy nature and just find somewhere to look at the mountains!! Although it might be the wrong time of year for that too....was in Darjeeling one December and the fog never lifted enough for any mountain views in the surrounding area.

Now if I go to Nepal, it looks like it's too late for the Sanctuary but I could do the Jomsom trek in that Annapurna region. Alternatively... the Langtang Valley or the Helambu Circuit....does anyone have any experience with Langtang or Helambu?

Oh yeah, does anyone who has seen the movie Himalaya remember the area the yak herders trekked through to trade their salt....looked beautiful....pretty hardcore though.

Saw the movie in Dhasa and remember it fondly. It´s shot in Dolpo , the area surrounding Dhaulagiri ( west from Jomosom/ Dzong Sam) .
The director, Eric Valli, headed the second unit (all shots without the main actors) in Seven Years in Tibet and has made made a documentary where Tibetans (more precisely Lhopas/inhabitants of Mustang) talk about how they want to be buried.

There is an interesting review , putting the film in a social context,
here

Some very pertinent comments in that review....most definitely a highly romanticised view of life in the area - absolutely beautiful cinematography though and a great soundtrack too. Wonder if the Dolpo-pa ever did get a fair share of the profits? Anyway....checked the LP and it's another area where the trekking season is basically May-Oct so I guess that's out too (plus it's a hotbed of Maoist activity and it would probably be wise to avoid that!).

...but the guerillas are always polite and you always receive a receipt (!) when they rob you.

Hi maree

There shouldn't be a problem with avalanches on the Jomsom trek. The valley is wide, unlike the trek into ABC where there can be real problems after a heavy winter snowfall and also in spring when the temperature rises and snow melt brings the avalanches down.

The trek up to Kagbeni village, north of Jomsom and the border of Mustang is avalanche free. This is not to say you might not have some snow on the upper parts of the trail. Weather conditions have become difficult to predict in recent years in the Himalayas. You would need to hire a good down jacket for the upper levels of the trek but you will only be just above 9000ft. The lodges all have heating in the communal dining room and provide good blankets for sleeping.

The top level of the Langtang valley trek is at about 12,000 ft and would be much colder and also more prone to snowfall. We were caught in a blizzard here just below Langtang village in early March a couple of years ago. Luckily it only snowed for about 24 hours and we were able to move on two days later when the snow had melted on the tracks. Not expecting snow, we had no snow goggles with us.

They are both very scenic treks but I think the Jomsom trek is the more impressive. You have Dhaulagiri on one side and Annapurna on the other and you pass through some very photogenic Buddhist villages on the way. If you go there, try the apple brandy made at Marpha, guaranteed to warm you up in the coldest weather!

Like most places in Nepal, the Helambu area is also worth visiting but in my opinion not as spectacular as the other two.

There are somewhat conflicting versions of where the February avalanche (s) struck but they all seem to place it in the upper reaches of the Kali Gandaki (since yaks were involved it would have been above 3000 meters anyway).

There is a january satellite photo (not this year) suggesting the snow stretches down to Kagbeni.

Kagbeni had a mystic feeling about it when i passed it a long , long time ago - wish I had stayed there .

I have read the report and it seems the avalanche happened somewhere between Kobang and Marpha. I'm not sure whether the avalanche reached the track, which runs pretty close to the flat riverbed, or whether it happened higher up the slope. There was very heavy snowfall in February this year all along the Himalayas.

I can think of one more reason for doing the Jomsom trek. In a few years time the area will be very different. A road is planned from Beni to Jomsom and the Nepalese Army had already begun blasting along the Kali Ghandaki Gorge towards Tatopani last winter. We took a high path to Galeshwar to bypass the construction work. I don't know how long it's going to take but it's going to be trucks and buses instead of those photogenic mule trains!